The Noble Epilogue
by SPG inc
Summary: Exactly what the title says. What becomes of Donna Noble. Collection of losely conected oneshots that take place after JE
1. The Noble Epilogue

**_I know it's pathetic, but to see Catherine Tate leave was too much. I just had to do it._**

**_A oneshot to show that not all hope is lost for Donna Noble when the Doctor is forced to erase her memory._**

**_BTW- in case you forgot, Lee is the guy Donna married in the virtual world in 'Silence in the library/Forest of the dead'_**

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

**The Noble Epilogue**

The mind wiping hadn't been perfect. The Doctor's reluctance to lose his most faithful companion was too much. Even with all his infamous willpower, it had broken his hearts to let her go. Without his full consent in wiping Donna Noble's mind, some of the Doctor/Donna's thoughts had leaked through the block. Not enough to harm her, but enough that it's influence could be seen.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Donna stared up at the stars, lovingly cradling the lid of the thermal flask that she'd fill tea. She didn't really notice the cold; the makeshift mug was something she did out of habit. Countless nights with her granddad on the allotment, gazing at the heavens had long since made resistant against the chilly autumn nights.

She'd had to go home soon. It was a shame she couldn't stay out as long as she used to, but it was worth it for the reason she had to get home.

Lee.

A small smile played across her face as she ran her thumb over the beautiful engagement ring. For the millionth time she pondered over the bizarre circumstances in which she'd come across the man who she could only describe as her 'soul mate'.

He'd just arrived on the doorstep one day, babbling and stuttering about how he'd researched and gone through the black market so he could find a way to travel and find her.

Originally, Donna and her family had thought he was some madman, and had called the police. A few weeks later though, the police had been in contact again.

Apparently, some expert doctor had assessed the confused young man and announced that he was not insane but was simply lacking in social skills. Donna wasn't told the full story, but it seemed that Lee had somehow never been in contact with society properly, possibly being the orphaned child of illegal immigrants or parents who had some wild religious belief that made them keep him hidden from the world as they knew it. This would certainly account for the fact that he had no official identity. According to the police, the doctor who assessed him had guaranteed that he wasn't dangerous and had already rehabilitated him to fit state to be accepted into society, but had insisted that a special request was made for Donna meet with him while under psychological review, in order to make sure he would no longer mistakenly think he knew her.

Normally, Donna would have told the police officer what to do with his request, but in the last three years a peculiar change had come over her, and she was a lot more open minded and compassionate that she'd ever been in her life, so much so that she agreed to the request.

Within just two months, Donna had found that Lee was anything but insane, and had fallen head over heels in love with him.

At first she'd found his stuttering irritating, but with willpower she hadn't known she possessed, she forced herself to be patient and understanding with him. After that, Lee assured her that the doctor he'd spoken with when he'd first been interviewed had explained everything to him and he was fine now. He'd then gone on to prove that he was a very charming and sensitive young man. Donna didn't stand a chance.

With her expecting their first child he didn't like her to be out late, but considering she was going to be virtually housebound once pregnancy set in with vengeance she was going to get in as much stargazing in as possible while she could (her brutal determination was something that hadn't changed). He argued briefly but had quickly given in; he was too soft hearted to disagree with her for long. Having a husband who she could easily boss around had always been Donna's dream, but strangely enough she found herself doing her best to compromise by coming home earlier than she'd like, and Lee accepted that without a fight.

Donna still could barely believe her luck in coming across such a wonderful man, and that he was capable of tolerating her. Sadly, the changes to her personality had done nothing to liberate her of her paranoia. She still saw herself as an unimportant and unnoticeable individual; one of life's spectators, who have to fight to get the chance to join in.

If only she could see herself from the outside.

It had started in the year two thousand and eight. Everyone, even Donna's easily distracted friends were going on about the madness of planets in the sky and the invasion of the 'Exterminators' or 'Daleks' or whatever the heck people were calling them now. To this day Donna was convinced someone must have spiked her drink that night. She couldn't remember the incident at all, and whenever she tried to think about it too hard she had a blinding headache. Nevertheless, with all the talk going on she decided she was fed up with missing out on anything important and was going to do something with her life, starting with a decent job.

A permanent admin job instead of a temp admin job hadn't exactly been a massive leap, but Donna was seeking to better her position by taking up a correspondence course in media studies. She honestly couldn't say why she'd chosen that of all subjects, but she felt a part of it was the idea of looking into things deeper and thinking about them more, the very thing she was trying to achieve. She wasn't entirely sure what she'd like to be. She'd considered being some sort of reporter. She'd been inspired after she joined a website called 'LINDA' that specialised in investigating unexplained rumours and strange stories in London. The site owner, who went by the user name 'John', had posted several articles about supposed alien encounters and unnatural phenomena, including an investigators tutorial section which gave in depth information on becoming an undercover reporter. She was already a member of the site and found the articles quite appealing, but she wasn't sure if that's what she really wanted to do with her life. The only other career she had considered was that of a teacher (she had no idea where that idea had come from, except perhaps from a desire to make a difference to others).

Still, there was still plenty of time to decide. For the moment, and for a long time after, her concerns were for her new family.

Speaking of family, Donna supposed she should find out her mum's opinion on all this. She glanced at the sleeping man next to her. Her granddad was brilliant, but his opinion was rarely anything more complex than 'If that's what you want to do then do. I know you've got it in you, and whatever happens you know I'm on your side'. Nice, but not exactly words of wisdom. Of course, there was a time when she wouldn't have dreamed of asking her mum's opinion on anything important. She seemed far too interested in pointing out Donna's shortcomings than her strengths. However, Sylvia Noble had also changed a lot in the last three years. Although she claimed, like her father, that she hadn't seen or heard anything about planets in the sky and an alien invasion, Donna's mother had become drastically different in the way she treated her daughter. Donna could barely remember the last time she'd made some negative comment about her; if anything she'd become the complete opposite. She treated Donna with an affectionate manner that was both surprising, but at the same time very pleasant. She'd also become extremely protective, going out of her way to make sure nothing was bothering her daughter. Of course, the old Donna would have loved this sort of treatment, but the more sensitive and mature Donna was interested in knowing why her mum was putting herself out in order to be nice. So far, however, she hadn't been able to get anything out of her.

Donna huffed to herself. Some reporter she'd make.

She looked at her granddad again as he snorted in his sleep. She'd better wake him up and take him home soon. He was too old to be out at that time of night in October, but like his granddaughter, he was far too stubborn to be deterred so easily.

"So, you still come out here?"

Donna jumped sharply, then scrambled out of the chair and turned to face the voice.

The man was standing just a few feet away from where she and Wilf were seated. He was dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes, a long brown coat and white trainers. The whole assembly appeared to be too big for him. The coat seemed to almost engulf his entire frame, while suit hung too loosely from his body to be considered smart. The trainers, apart from vastly contrasting with the rest of his entire, were obviously too big on his feet and the laces were trailing along the ground uselessly. His face was young and handsome, with soft black hair and a playful glint in his eye.

Donna looked him over curiously. She had a strange feeling she'd seen the man before.

"Sorry, have we met?" she asked.

"We met a long time ago. The name's John Smith."

Again, Donna had the irritating feeling that there was something about the name she just couldn't quite remember. Still, no need to sound unnecessarily forgetful. She opened her mouth to say 'Of course, I remember you now.' but he cut her off.

"No need to pretend to remember me. It was quite a while ago, and only briefly."

Donna did a slight double take. They must have known each other fairly well if he could anticipate her that easily. For a horrible moment she wondered if he was an old boyfriend hoping to see if she was still available, but she was sure she'd remember _that_.

He didn't seem dangerous or malicious in any way. On the contrary, he smiling as though standing in the middle of an allotment on a cold autumn night was a dream come true for him. Nevertheless, Donna felt comfortable in his presence, and replied "I gotta admit, I don't remember very well. Where exactly did we meet?"

"It was while you were temping at H.C. Clements. We bumped into each other on Christmas day."

Donna inwardly blanched. She'd done her best to forget about her time at that company; ever since that jerk, Lance, had taken off with another woman on their wedding day. However, she did suddenly have a memory of a man she'd met that day, though it was very hazy.

"I think I do remember you now." she said uncertainly. "You're a doctor aren't you?"

His smile faltered for a moment.

"I didn't expect you to remember that well." he said. She had a feeling there was a slight note of concern, or even panic in his voice, but she couldn't be sure, on account of the fact that a slight headache had come over her.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" she challenged, sitting down again and hoping that this 'sort of' stranger didn't guess she was in pain. If he was going to start implying she was too thick to remember him, she wanted to be able to lose her temper properly, without him offering to treat her or something.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" he said quickly; too quickly in Donna's opinion (he must remember her well).

"I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought I'd just come and see how things were going."

She looked at him curiously.

"Who told you I'd be here?"

"You did. Well, years ago you said you came out here with your granddad. I thought I'd try here first."

_'If I knew him well enough to tell him about that, then why can I barely remember him_?' she queried herself. Most of her closest friends didn't know that one of her favourite pastimes was to hang out with her granddad, so why'd she tell him?

"So, why haven't I seen you for so long then?" she asked.

"Well, my work takes me far and wide. I've been out the country for a while; a whole world away in fact," he laughed gently "but what about you? What have you been getting yourself into?" he crouched down next to Donna and pointed at the engagement ring on her finger.

In a matter of minutes, Donna Noble and John Smith were talking enthusiastically about everything that had happened to themselves over the years. Donna couldn't help but notice a strange thing about John, though. Firstly, he seemed remarkably evasive and vague about anything to do with himself, although when discussing Donna's life he seemed in his element. Secondly, even though they apparently hadn't seen each other since H.C. Clements, their conversation seemed to focus exclusively on the time between now and the 'Planets in the sky' event. Donna gave an internal shrug at the suspicious thoughts.

_'So what? It's not like that means anything, does it_?'

"So," she said after nearly forty minutes of talking about herself "what about you? What's your work like? You have a family?"

John's smile became slightly fixed for the moment. He looked blankly ahead of himself and said "Same old. Travelling, studying. Can't complain about the job. No family, but that's fine. I'm not the sort of person for settling down and doing...domestic things"

The discussion stopped for a moment, and turned into an awkward silence. Donna looked at the young man's face while he stared up into the sky. She found herself thinking _'How lonely he is_.'

That was ridiculous, of course. She didn't know about him, or his lifestyle, yet Donna had a funny feeling about him. For some reason she felt sorry for this man she could barely remember; felt that she wanted to offer him some comfort, even though he claimed he was used to being a loner. As she watched him stare determinedly at the stars she reached out to take his hand in hers...

And then John Smith turned to face her again.

Donna's hand snaked back, hoping he hadn't seen. What had possessed her to do that?

"Well, I just wanted to pop by and see how you were doing. I'd best be on my way."

He smiled again. For a moment he looked like he might say more, but instead he rose to his feet and began to walk away.

Donna stayed quiet for a moment. For a moment she too was unsure what to say. Then she stood up and called after him.

"Oi, John."

Wilf groaned and tossed in his sleep, but slumbered on.

"My wedding's on going to be in St Mary's Church, on Christmas day. D'you wanna come?"

Donna felt almost surprised to hear the hopefulness in her voice. John Smith looked back at her. Another amused smile was playing around his lips, but Donna noticed there was something that looked like sadness in his eyes.

"Maybe. I might be outta town by then. But I'll come by if I get the chance."

Another silence followed.

"Well," John said eventually "goodbye Donna."

With one last smile, he turned and walked away into the darkness.

"Goodbye..." Donna said gently.

She watched until John Smith was no longer in sight. She hoped that he would come to see her on her wedding day.

But deep down, she knew he wouldn't.


	2. Optional Epilogue

_**In case the last chapter still wasn't satisfying enough, I've prepared this optional epilogue. Enjoy!**_

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

As the happy couple exited the wide church doors, cheers and whistles rang out in celebration, along with a sigh of relief from Donna's mum.

For the sake of those with cameras, Donna pulled Lee into an exaggeratedly romantic kiss, which he accepted without complaint. As they pulled away, something soft and white fluttered between them. They looked up, and Donna laughed in delight. It was snowing.

She looked out at the modest crowd of friends and family. She looked around at the road and nearby houses as they received their gentle dusting of snow. And then she saw something else.

A large blue box, standing proudly on a nearby street corner, and John Smith leaning against, a small smile on his face.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

**_Thank you for reading my fic. Please leave a review (flames and negitive comments accepted)._**

**_BTW, is there anyone who agrees that Donna is the best of the new series companions?_**


	3. Valentine’s Day

_**This story is not actually related to the previous chapters in anyway. Effectively this is a standalone one shot. Enjoy!**_

X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X

Donna smiled gently as regarded the date on the calendar.

February fourteenth.

Valentine's Day.

For the best part of her life, Donna had had little interest in the occasion. The only relevance it had ever had to her was in her teenage years. In the past she had breezed through a multitude of boyfriends and whenever Valentine's Day had coincided with a time she was dating someone, she expected some sort of present or dumped the guy on the spot. This was the most significance the event had for her, not that it ever happened much since she usually dated and dumped her boyfriends too fast for Valentine's Day had time to occur.

They didn't call her the best temp in Chiswick for nothing.

That was a long time ago. In recent years, Donna had started to behave more responsibly, giving up on looking 'the right man' and getting her life organised. That had been nearly four years ago, but it had taken less than half that time for her to miss having a boyfriend. So, when an internet dating site had offered short term free membership on Valentine's Day, she'd gone for it, and now she was with Shaun.

Just then the letter box flapped, and Donna headed to the front door as the letters hit the mat.

This was what she'd been waiting for. The traditional Valentines joke.

The first Valentine's Day after Donna and Shaun had started going out, the slightly naive young man sent Donna a Valentines card from a supposedly secret admirer as a joke. Donna had spent the next three days of worrying that some old flame who thought he was still in with a chance was going to come blundering back into her life to mess everything up, before Shaun admitted that he sent the card. Predictably, Donna had blown his head off for it (figuratively, not literally), but after she'd calmed down she did see the funny side. Since then, it had becoming a silly yet endearing tradition that on Valentine's Day they'd send each other an anonymous card.

Donna quickly scooped up the letters and checked through them.

About six adverts were quickly filed away in the bin. Something that looked like a bank statement was tossed aside to be dealt with at the weekend. She saw the card she sent and put aside for Shaun when he got back home. And finally, she came to the purple envelope with Shaun's tell-tale loopy hand writing. Donna was about to tear it open to see what her man had written about her, when suddenly there was a shuffle at the letter box, and another envelope dropped through.

Another card to be precise.

Donna regarded the letter in surprise. Surely the postie hadn't forgotten just one letter and just managed to notice now and come back. She picked it up to check it. She could feel that it was defiantly a card inside, feeling too stiff to be paper. The envelope had already given it away; royal blue with rectangular shaped patterns across the surface. She turned the card over, and was surprised to see that there was no address on the letter; just her name.

Donna quickly opened the door and looked out to see if the person who'd hand delivered the card was still there. There was no one in sight

Slightly confused, Donna closed the door and went to sit on the sofa as she opened the card. The card itself was a very plain, standard sort of thing one might find in any shop at this time of the year. Donna opened the card up and began to read the message inside.

She read it once, then paused to think. Then she read it a second time, unsure what to make of what had been written.

X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X

_Dear Donna,_

_You won't remember me now; it seems so long ago that we met. I haven't forgotten the day we parted, or how much it hurt to see you go. This will quite probably be the last you ever hear from me ever again. I know you've moved on with your life and found someone you truly love, and I'm happy for you. Me? Haven't found anyone yet, same as ever. Still just travelling my life away, looking for someone to care about and share my world with. I've no idea what the long years of my life hold for me but I want you to know- no matter what happens, no matter who I meet or where I go, I will never forget you._

_With love, from all my hearts_

_D._

X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X X-X

Donna stared at the card, not sure what to think.

Who was this card from? She couldn't think of anyone who might call them self 'D'. And as far as she knew, she'd never been with anyone who'd felt about her as strongly as the card implied.

Donna thought long and hard, to try and think of who may have sent such a thing. For a moment, she thought she'd come up with something- a vague memory of a skinny bloke with fantastic hair. But no sooner had she thought of it, than she suddenly seemed to lose focus on the memory.

Donna frowned and shook her head, unable to come to a conclusion over the mystery card.

She closed the card and put it back in the envelope. The she went back to the kitchen and, with one final look at the bumper pattern on the blue envelope, pushed the card right to the bottom of the bin.

Whoever had sent the card, Donna agreed with them on one thing- whatever they'd shared with each other in the past was over. Things had changed, and Donna had a new life to be getting on with.

Hoping that this unknown character from her past would also find something or someone else to 'share his world with', Donna headed back to the living room, doing her best to put the card out of her mind. Sitting back down on the sofa, she quickly opened the card sent to her from Shaun, and began to read.


	4. Brilliant

The Doctor looked into the mirror and considered his appearance.

His eleventh incarnation looked remarkably young compared to all his previous appearances. Brown fluffy hair, a thin and lanky frame, a youthful face. Maybe those senators had a point when they called him 'pretty boy'.

It didn't seem so long ago that he was in his tenth form; a person who was closer to middle aged but still just a young man. Not that he mined how old his physical form depicted him. The only important thing about his appearance was who recognised him and why. For example, Donna. Like this, there was very little chance she might suddenly remember him if they were to meet. He'd sealed away the red haired woman's memories well and good the last time they met, so well that she didn't even notice him when he was in his previous shape. He'd made sure that there was no chance some small piece of overlooked evidence from their time together might awaken the DoctorDonna and lead to the death of his 'most faithful companion'. For the sake of Donna's life, the Doctor had made certain that awakening those memories would be a difficult thing to do.

And that was bad, because that's exactly what the Doctor wanted to do.

Leaving the mirror, the Time Lord left the bathroom and began his walk down the hallway. Even if he hadn't known where to find Donna, he would have been able to sense his way to her. Her mental signature was too distinctive to mistake.

As he walked, the Doctor pondered over what he'd learned about his old companion just so recently. He felt guilty at having lost touch with her so soon after he'd left her back home in Chiswick. Perhaps it was because he was afraid if he stayed too close there might be some sort of accident that led to the restoration of Donna's memories resulting in her mind burning up. Or, more likely, because it hurt too much to be constantly reminded of how everything they'd shared had vanished into insignificance. But now the time had come to end that.

The Doctor had been glad to hear that in spite of erasing her memories, Donna had still managed to retain a small amount of the more determined, mature and ambitious personality she'd developed while travelling in the TARDIS. In the time since her adventures across time and space, Donna had evolved from a narrow minded temp into competent and strong willed human being that filled the Doctor with a sense of pride. He'd been throwing caution to the wind when he'd sent his old friend a winning lottery ticket as a wedding present, but aside from the occasional luxury (such as an oversized house and first class world cruise) she'd been surprising responsible with her money, seeing to it that her mum and granddad could look forward to a very comfortable old age, while making sure to set aside some emergency cash for a rainy day. Maybe that was actually because of the influence of Donna's rather calm and passive husband, but the Doctor liked to think that he could share some of the credit.

More impressive than all that, however, was Donna's career path. Having become dissatisfied with brief appointments in dull offices, Donna had been able to be far more choosy in what job she wanted since her financial boom. It turned out that throughout the year prior to when she became employed as the Doctor's companion, Donna had amassed a long list of paranormal incidents and investigation groups from when she'd been trying to find the Time Lord who'd saved her life on her first attempted wedding day. Building on this, Donna had once again gone into investigating the unexplained. Fortunately, none of her studies had bought back any of her sealed memories, and she'd been fairly successful in following leads on alien activity and had managed to sell a few articles to magazines or private collectors. She'd even come close to tracking down the location of Torchwood Three once, but Captain Jack had made sure to draw her off with a false trail after the Doctor warned him of her condition (and of the fact that she was no longer single). The same warning had been given to Sarah-Jane Smith after Donna had contacted her to ask the 'alien expert' journalist, as she was known throughout certain circles, for help with an incident she was trying to find out about. And while Sarah-Jane never risked letting on the full extent of her alien knowledge to Donna, the pair ended up working a few very interesting cases together.

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. It seemed as though Donna was determined to be stubborn and fight against anything she disagreed with, even if she didn't remember the Doctor's memory wipe. The Doctor knew it was logically impossible, but also knew that if anyone was going to try rebelling against something they didn't even remember, then Donna would be the one to try it.

But now that was all going to change. The Doctor was going to restore Donna Noble's memories, and to the void with the consequences!

Coming to the right place, the Doctor turned to the left and entered the room, looking towards his dear friend.

His hearts clenched when he looked at the aged woman lying in the hospital bed, her flaming hair long since turned white, her face wrinkled and worn from the long years of her life, breathing heavily in an uncomfortable sleep.

Old age- it took a terrible toll on humans. They deteriorated so badly as time went by, different parts of their bodies failing at different times, aggravating their condition. Donna was now ninety two, and the Doctor carried the terrible burden of knowing that today was her last day; her last few minutes even. Even now as she fought, just like she'd fought every day of her life for one reason or another, Donna Noble was dying. The Doctor had made his decision- if she had to die now, let her feel alive again in her last moments. Let her remember who she really was.

Donna was not alone. Sadly her husband had died when he was only in his sixties. Distraught but ever determined Donna had soldiered on, living solely for her son and daughter who she was devoted to, and had been rewarded as she'd barely spent a couple of hours over the last week without at least one of them by her side. Stella was currently asleep in a chair next to the bed, while Josh had staggered off in search of coffee to help them stay awake, both of them knowing their mother's time was nearly up.

The Doctor wasted no time in going to Donna's side and laying a hand gently on her wrist.

"Donna," he whispered. "Donna, it's me. Wake up."

Despite appearing so restless, Donna took a moment to regain consciousness, and even longer to come round from bleary eyed incomprehension to semi wakefulness.

Once fully awake, she turned to look at the one who'd woken her. The Time Lord felt a pain in his chest as he looked into the dull eyes which had been filled with so much life when he'd last seen them. He waited patiently as Donna's tired mind contemplated the man in front of her, before her face crumpled into a frown.

"What do you want?" the old lady rasped at the man who was a stranger in her eyes. "What d'you think you doing waking an old woman up? You better have a good excuse sonny."

The Doctor smiled. Still plenty of fight in her.

"It's alright. I'm an old friend."

"Not as old as me sunshine. Who are you then?"

"I'm-" the Time Lord faltered for a moment. "I'm the Doctor."

Donna paused for a moment and frowned. The Doctor's hands fumbled nervously with each other, wondering if the old memories were already returning.

"Look, in the last few months I've had more doctors examine me than Robert Pattinson's had film contracts. Anything more specific?"

The Doctor deflated as his old companion failed to recognise him. He supposed he should have given this situation more thought, but as always he'd gone blundering in with no plan or anything.

The same way he did whenever he was with his companions. He wouldn't want it any other way.

"We met a long time ago. I was with you on some of the paranormal cases you investigated."

Well, it was close enough to the truth. Donna gazed at him suspiciously as she tried to place him in memories that weren't there. The Doctor stayed quite as she thought, but was aware that he was running out of time before one of Donna's kids may join the conversation or, even worse, Donna might pass on before he got through to her.

"I don't remember you at all. And anyway, I gave up that work years ago. You'd only have been a kid back then."

"Well my looks have changed a bit since then. I'm a lot older than you think."

Donna snorted a dismissal and turned her head away.

"I just had to come and see you again," the Doctor went on. "The times we spent together were good times. I wanted to remind you of them again."

"Look, pal," the old woman turned back to him, her resolve clearly tiring as fatigue overtook her again. "I'd remember you if you ever worked with me when I was writing those alien articles. I know your lying, so why ever you're here, get out now."

"I'm telling the truth Donna; you've just forgotten. I came because I wanted to remind you of the things you forgot. I came to remind you of everything you did, and of how brilliant you were. I came to remind you of all the things we did together and to remind you of the person you used to be before-" the Doctor was forced to stop his almost frantic explanation as a lump formed in his throat. To see his friend so different; so... changed. What happened to the girl who'd spent a whole year searching for him? Who'd shared the burden of the destruction of Pompeii with him? Who'd gambled her sanity as she faced down the Ilk and had given King Leonidas the courage to lead his three hundred Spartans in their heroic last stand? She'd had so much life and strength. How had age managed to strip all that from her to the point that she was too tired and weak to put up a decent argument? He longed for her to jump up and slap his face just like old times and tell him to hit the road, insisting that he was an imposter, just so he could catch a glimpse of the rash, hot tempered Donna that he knew.

He fought to keep his emotions under control, knowing there was no time to dwell on his own feelings.

The aged human looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but exhaustion supplanted anger in a matter of seconds.

"Either you've got the wrong person or you're just mad. I was never any good as a reporter. I'm just a boring, unimportant, average old woman who's soon going to die and vanish off the face of the earth, so stop bothering me."

"That's not true," the Doctor insisted as he moved forward so he was perching on the edge of the chair. "I know you Donna. Your life was bright and golden, and full of things to be proud of. You, Donna, are one of the most important people in the universe."

Donna gave a weak laugh and mumbled "Don't lie. I know I'm nothing special, so-"

"No!" the Doctor suddenly felt full of anger. Anger at Donna's doubt; at her uncertainty. At the fact that he, the Doctor, hadn't been back to her for so long. Anger that she could no longer remember how special she was. He grabbed hold of Donna's hands, only just stopping himself from squeezing them hard enough to cause injury.

"Don't talk about yourself like that. You're better than that and you know it. Deep down inside, there's a part of you that knows everything you done. A part- another person whose eyes where opened for one shining moment to see who you really were. Because there is so much to you, Donna Noble. So much that it nearly killed you when you tried to take it all in. You are without a doubt one of the greatest human beings who ever lived. The only true failure in your life is that you've never seen just how great. And that's not even your fault; it's mine. I had to hide it from you Donna. The truth would have killed you so I had to make you forget, because the truth is, quite simply, you're brilliant!"

Donna was completely confounded. She stared at the Doctor as though he were mad. Her emotions were unclear, shifting between masks of fear, confusion, anger and... was that _hopefulness_?

"What are you on about you nutcase!" she demanded. She sounded mad, but she gazed at the man before her with a new light in her eyes as if her entire existence depended on his reply, and she gripped his hands with equal strength.

The Doctor let out a breath and said "Oh Donna. My most faithful companion. This is the day when your song ends. Just for this moment, remember. Just one last time remember-"

The Doctor suddenly moved forward and before Donna could move back he whispered in her ear.

"The DoctorDonna."

Donna gasped and her hands fell away from the Doctor's grip, her head turning so it looked straight up at the ceiling. For a horrible moment the Doctor thought the shock had killed her instantly. He stood up and looked down into her eyes.

And then he saw it.

The golden light of a Time Lord regeneration- his regeneration to be precise. The source of the genetic link between them. That turned lippy, self doubting Donna Noble into the all powerful DoctorDonna. He saw her eyes recovering their previous strength. Donna simply lay helplessly as unlocked memories bombarded her. Not just her memories, but the Doctor's memories too; all the powerful knowledge in the Doctor's mind poured into hers. The Doctor could feel her mind transforming, warping under the pressure of such power. In no time at all, the DoctorDonna was back.

Donna took one look at the Doctor's smiling face, before she sat bolt upright, and slapped him in the face.

Hard...

The Doctor reeled back, while Stella stirred in her sleep on the opposite side of the bed.

'_Bit too hasty when I wished she'd get up and slap me.'_ The Doctor thought.

Next thing, Donna had pulled him into a huge hug, the revelation in her mind somehow restoring her strength.

"You idiot!" she hissed. "What did you think you were doing, taking away my memories? All these years and I've only just remembered it all now. Where were you, stuck in traffic!"

"I missed you too Donna." The Doctor tried to speak drily but couldn't stop the note of glee in his voice. They pulled apart and looked at each other.

"You look," the Doctor fumbled for the right words "really well."

"Shut up, spaceman! How is it that you can look younger after fifty years while I end up looking like the bride of Frankenstein?"

"It's actually the bride of Frankenstein's monster you should be thinking of, and since you've got my mind you should know I've been through another regeneration. What ya think?"

"I think that not even all the intelligence in the universe will tell me why you're wearing a bowtie. What's it for?"

"Bowties are cool."

Donna looked at him despairingly and said "No, they're not."

Suddenly another shocked expression passed over her features. She'd pulled the Doctor into her embraced again.

"You saved Granddad's with that regeneration! I can remember it!"

She hugged the Doctor even tighter, and then punched his back.

"Why did you put him in danger? The Master could have eaten him or something. And you- all these memories I have. Are you seriously telling me that I can't turn my back for fifty years without you nearly burning the universe to a crisp?"

"Donna, you know me better than that. Of course I can't." he let go of her and moved back. "Besides, I'm here now so what's the problem?"

"None I guess. You're better looking too," Donna smile coyly. "So, oh great and ancient Doctor. Am I old enough to be your type?"

The Doctor laughed, and Donna joined in, but her laughing turned into weak coughs after a moment.

"Take it easy," advised the Doctor while Donna lay back down. "You had a big wakeup call; no need to rush things."

"I know why you're here," the old woman gave a weak smile. "This is where my song ends, isn't it? That's why you made me remember."

The Doctor didn't answer. He just looked into those eyes that had once again become so familiar to him. The body was weak and the mind was degrading, but the spirit of Donna was burning brightly. They went on gazing into each other's eyes until Donna's closed as she put a hand to her forehead and groaned.

"It's started," said the Doctor quietly. "The process can't be stopped now. I'm sorry Donna. I just wanted you to remember one more time."

"Don't be sorry," Donna took hold of one of the Doctor's hands. "Back then, when I was dying, I thought that was it; that I'd lose everything we had, forever. This way, I get to have it all back"

Donna gave a smile laugh, while the Doctor tried to look happy for his friend.

"All these thoughts. They're all so amazing, but they hurt at the same time. "

"You know what's going to happen. You mind can't cope with all that knowledge. You're burning up."

Donna smiled and said "Well, isn't that wizard?"

"Mum?"

Both of them looked towards the doorway as Josh took in what was going on. Putting the coffee aside, Donna's son quickly came over to the bed and woke his sister with a sharp nudge.

"Who are you?" he asked uncertainly as he looked between the stranger and his mother.

"Just an old friend. Call me the Doctor."

"Mum, you look bad. What's wrong?" Stella got up as she noticed the change in Donna's condition- wide awake but growing physically weaker by the second.

"This is it kids," Donna sighed with a slight smile. "I'm on my way out."

"What? No, no yet," Josh moved forward with a desperate look in his eyes. The Time Lord, now forgotten, got up from his chair and began to move away.

"I'll call the nurse," said Stella.

"Don't," Donna waved vaguely at her children. "It's alright. I feel wonderful. I have everything I want out of life. I don't mind going now."

"Don't talk like that Mum! Just hold on!"

Josh gestured at the Doctor to go get help, the words tumbling into each other in panic. The Doctor didn't move. Nothing could keep Donna alive now. He wanted to be there for her final moments.

"This is it," Donna said, nearly delirious as her mind began to burn. "I can remember my whole life right now. It's all, just so... brilliant."

Donna's voice trailed off. Her head shifted so she could see the Doctor. They shared one last smile, before the light in Donna's eyes faded forever.

* * *

The Doctor hadn't attended the funeral in person. There was too much risk of complicated questions and smart people putting two and two together. Plus, the Doctor was almost as bad at funerals as he was at weddings.

He stood before the pair of graves, Donna having been buried next to her husband. Not much thought went through the Doctor's mind at that moment. All his efforts were directed to the grave where the DoctorDonna now lay.

There was no reason to stay any longer. Donna had been unable to come back before and she was unable to come back now. It was time to move on again.

The Doctor took a step forward and crouched in front of the grave.

"Time to go, Donna. Wish we could have had one more adventure together."

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out something small and metal. He placed the object carefully on top of the marble headstone and left, making his way back to the TARDIS.

On top of the gravestone sat what was once a bio-damper ring, but the micro electronics on the inside of the band had been pulled out, making it an ordinary gold ring. In the place where the nodes and microchips had been a tiny sliver of gold had been precision welded in place and had a word inscribed on it. The word was in Gallifreyan- no one would ever be able to read what it said. The ring was far too small to have engraved any long message upon its surface, but what was written there carried all the meaning of the universe to those with the knowledge to understand.

The word was simply 'Brilliant'.


End file.
